MSGID: 1:317/3 646c416c   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    New insights into the complex neurochemistry of ants    
    In terms of neurobiology ants are a model species    
      
     Date:   
         May 22, 2023   
     Source:   
         Medical University of Vienna   
     Summary:   
         Ants' brains are amazingly sophisticated organs that enable them   
         to coordinate complex behavior patterns such as the organization   
         of colonies. Now, researchers have developed a method that allows   
         them to study ants' brain chemistry and gain insights into the   
         insects' neurobiological processes. The findings could help to   
         explain the evolution of social behavior in the animal kingdom,   
         and shed light on the biochemistry of certain hormone systems that   
         have developed similarly in both ants and humans.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   Ants' brains are amazingly sophisticated organs that enable them   
   to coordinate complex behaviour patterns such as the organisation of   
   colonies. Now, a group of researchers led by Christian Gruber of MedUni   
   Vienna's Institute of Pharmacology have developed a method that allows   
   them to study ants' brain chemistry and gain insights into the insects'   
   neurobiological processes. The findings could help to explain the   
   evolution of social behaviour in the animal kingdom, and shed light   
   on the biochemistry of certain hormone systems that have developed   
   similarly in both ants and humans. For the study, the researchers used   
   a combination of high-resolution mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) and   
   micro-computed tomography (myCT) to map the three-dimensional distribution   
   of neuropeptides in the brains of two ant species: the leafcutter ant   
   (Atta sexdens) and the black garden ant (Lasius niger).   
      
   Researchers from MedUni Vienna, the Max Planck Institute for Marine   
   Microbiology in Bremen and the University of Bremen have developed a   
   new method for studying social insects' brains, which measure only   
   a few millimetres in size. In future, their approach could play a   
   decisive role in research into fundamental neurobiological processes. The   
   method integrates three-dimensional chemical data into a high-definition   
   anatomical model, allowing for unbiased visualisation of 3D neurochemistry   
   in its particular anatomical environment.   
      
   Published in the journal PNAS Nexus, the study showed that some ant   
   peptides, such as the tachykinin-related peptides TK1 and TK4, are widely   
   distributed in many areas of both species' brains, while other peptides,   
   including myosuppressin, are only found in particular regions. The   
   researchers also noticed differences between the two species - a large   
   number of peptides were found in the optic lobe of L. niger, but only one   
   (an ITG-like peptide) was identified in the same region in A. sexdens.   
      
   The key feature of the new method is that a correlative approach is   
   used to analyse data. This means that 3D maps of the distribution   
   of neuropeptides and 3D anatomical models are precisely collated,   
   generating two maps that help to navigate the ants' brains. Each map   
   contains different information, which is critical for studying organs   
   with high plasticity, such as the brains of social insects, which are   
   particularly hard to analyse due to the complex division of labour   
   and caste system in ant colonies. Building on previous studies of MS   
   imaging of neuropeptides in invertebrate model systems, this approach   
   represents a promising method for studying fundamental neurobiological   
   processes by visualising distortion-free 3D neurochemistry in its own   
   complex anatomical environment.   
      
   "These findings have the potential to fundamentally alter the way we study   
   complex neurobiological processes. Our method opens up new perspectives   
   when it comes to observing the brains of social insects more closely and   
   better understanding the functioning of nervous systems where chemistry   
   and anatomy are fully attuned," commented lead author Benedikt Geier,   
   who worked alongside co-lead author Esther Gil Mansilla. "In terms of   
   neurobiology, ants are a model species. Due to the extremely complex   
   structures in ant colonies, this method could be applied in future to   
   gain an understanding of various factors, including the evolution of   
   social behaviour in the animal kingdom, or the biochemistry of certain   
   hormone systems that have developed in a similar fashion in both ants   
   and humans," reported Christian Gruber.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Health_&_Medicine   
                   # Nervous_System # Medical_Imaging # Psychology_Research   
             o Mind_&_Brain   
                   # Psychology # Social_Psychology # Neuroscience   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Insects_(including_Butterflies) # Mice #   
                   Invasive_Species   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Ant o Fire_ant o Sociobiology o Psychology o Mirror_neuron   
             o Social_psychology o Autism o Biology   
      
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   Story Source: Materials provided by Medical_University_of_Vienna. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Benedikt Geier, Esther Gil-Mansilla, Zita   
      Liutkevičiūtė,   
         Roland Hellinger, Jozef Vanden Broeck, Janina Oetjen, Manuel   
         Liebeke, Christian W Gruber. Multiplexed neuropeptide mapping in   
         ant brains integrating microtomography and three-dimensional   
         mass spectrometry imaging. PNAS Nexus, 2023; 2 (5) DOI:   
         10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad144   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230522131347.htm   
      
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